SCILLA
Among the abundant whites and yellows of early spring a pop of other colours is welcome, and none more than blue. Here the genus Scilla comes into its own, brief ly spangling the ground with its six-petalled f lowers in shades from glacier- to Prussian blue, varying sometimes to white or pink, occasionally almost mauve. None lasts very long in f lower, and most would not draw a crowd, but as highlights in the garden, or as gems in a pot, they are delightful.
The name has been in use for hundreds of years, originally being applied to the Mediterranean sea squill, now , a tender, autumn-f loweringtoday. The standard English name is squill, but it’s one that you don’t often hear in use; most gardeners call them scillas.
